Flowers, candles, pictures and a broken rear-view mirror lay along the traffic barrier at the state Highway 380 exit along North Loop 288 in Denton. The items are part of a makeshift memorial, created by some of the hundreds of people who attended a vigil over the weekend, who are heartbroken over the deaths of three teenagers -- two of whom left behind small children.
The teens died in a high-speed car crash just before midnight on New Year's Day when the driver of the car slammed into a traffic barrier along North Loop 288 while trying to elude police, friends said. Two of the teens, Adrian Alvarez, 18, and Fernando Cuevas, 19, died on impact. Jose Ramos, 16, was taken to the hospital by helicopter, but died a short time later.
The other three passengers, including the driver, were seriously injured are being treated at local hospitals.
A state trooper clocked the Ford sedan going 78 mph and turned around to pull the car over. Six teenagers were inside the car, including Jeramiah Enriquez' sister, Rachel.
"My sister said they were telling him to slow down, that they seen the cop on that side of the road going that way. And whenever the cop turned around, that the kid said that, that the cop ... that the cop couldn't take him to jail," Enriquez said as he looked at the crash site.
Enriquez said everyone in the car tried to convince the 19-year-old driver to slow down but the driver insisted if the cop was going to stop him, the cop would have to catch him.
"So he started going faster and she said that he started going faster and all she could remember was that he lost control," Enriquez said.
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Enriquez' sister Rachel was ejected from the vehicle and landed 15 feet from the car, breaking her leg. She was the only one conscious after the crash.
Toxicology reports are pending. If the driver is found to have been intoxicated during the crash, he could face criminal charges.
